The North Park Lost Boys Ultimate Frisbee team was in Appleton, Wisconsin this past weekend May 19-20 for the Division III National College Championships. Teams gathered from every corner of the country to compete for the top spot among division III schools. Schools such as Claremont College from Southern California, Rice University from Texas, and Wake Forest out of North Carolina were in attendance making up a tournament of the top 16 teams in the country. 

North Park, who was only team representing the Great lakes region (schools from Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan) came in seeded 10th.  Saturday would consist of pool play where teams would compete to play in Sunday's championship bracket.  The Lost Boys' first game pitted them against their pool's number 1 seed, Bentley University out of Massachusetts.  The Lost Boys had played this team at last year's nationals and knocked them out of the tournament in an exciting last minute comeback.  This year's game would prove to be as equally exciting with the Lost Boys fighting to hold onto an early lead and winning on universe point, ultimate's equivalent to “sudden death,” with a score by the team's offensive leader, senior Tyler Nelson. 

After defeating Bentley, North Park faced an equally tough opponent in the University of Puget Sound out of Tacoma, Washington.  With the wind picking up, North Park utilized their precise and technical throws, allowing them to get a few points early and hold onto the lead late into the game. Puget Sound, who was also seeded higher than North Park, responded with a couple of defensive stands and tied the game. The Lost Boys were once again facing universe point. Having to work the disc up the field into the wind, North Park slowly made their way toward Puget Sound's end zone. The disc was swung to Senior Peter Fredrickson who found an open receiver in grad student, Connaught Donnelly, who caught the disc over several Puget Sound players in the end zone for the win. This win solidified the top place in the pool for North Park and an automatic spot in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

After a much needed night's rest, North Park awoke early to face Minnesota's St. Olaf, with only eight teams left competing for the championship. The Lost Boys again were able to use the high winds against their opponents with a zone defense and calm offense. Lead by senior Grant Blankenship's skilled throws, the Lost Boys controlled the lead from start to finish, winning 14-11.

With only four teams remaining, North Park found another Minnesota team awaiting them in the semifinals. This time, their opponent was from Frisbee powerhouse Carleton College.  At this point in the weekend, the Lost Boys, who had been running a shallow rotation of players, were exhausted.  The much deeper, and therefore less tired, Carleton team took advantage beating North Park, and eventually going on to win the National Championship.

North Park's team finished tied for third in the nation, overwhelmingly surpassing the expectations of the Ultimate community. The Lost Boys were proud of their finish and thankful to the fans who came out to support them. Although the North Park Lost Boys will be graduating many players this year, there is still great expectations for this team in the future.